Finally tearing down ugly 57g, building new 36g to replace it!

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Posting a plant list of just the new ones I bought for this tank so far so I have them all listed together:

Hyrophilia pinnatifida
Myriophyllum mattogrossense
Lobelia cardinalis (tried this once before but it failed, giving a 2nd shot)
Lilaaeopsis novea-zealandia
Bolbitis heudelotii
Echinodorus horemanii Green

Alternanthera sessilis
Microsorum pteropus
Lagenandra meeboldii
Crinum calamistratum
Pretty sure I've settled on an arrangement for the hardscape, so I'm just placing the plants in the pots inside the tank right now, and double-checking their care/placement preferences. Pics to come.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Arrangement I finally went for, plants placed loosely, not planted/attached yet;

Hardscape I settled on, although I've fiddled with the dragon stone a little while 'planting'

and have some close ups of the centre/left/right I can add later. I think this can work! I like it anyway, and that's the important thing, right? That, and that the fish like it. With the wood cave/v pieces and lots of little hiding spaces in and among the plants, yet some clear sand at the front and sides, I think the cories and plecs will like it.

 

[Wills]

Looking really good I like the rocks in the last picture and the overall planting plan (put a few notes in your other thread) but I do prefer the spider wood on the top like in pic 2 above. Or could you twist the bit of wood on the left so rather than it arching convex it went concave? Just something that feels a bit off about the line its making at the moment.

Wills

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Looking really good I like the rocks in the last picture and the overall planting plan (put a few notes in your other thread) but I do prefer the spider wood on the top like in pic 2 above. Or could you twist the bit of wood on the left so rather than it arching convex it went concave? Just something that feels a bit off about the line its making at the moment.

Wills

Which piece do you mean that you're referring to as spider wood? Sorry, so many photos, not sure which wood or which photo you mean! lol.
Hmm. I do see what you mean about maybe turning the wood on the left so the arrangement is less 'placed'. That piece isn't waterlogged and really wants to float, so I had to wedge it and weigh it down with a stone, but I'll definitely fiddle around with it again some more before I finalise the plants, thank you for the honest feedback!

And thank you so much for the planting tips in the other thread too, totally taken on board! I accidentally bought too many tall background plants, but will make it work somehow!

 

[Wills]

The spider wood is what I'm calling the twiggy bit that is on the top left side of the island scape

Wills

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

The spider wood is what I'm calling the twiggy bit that is on the top left side of the island scape

Wills

On which photo though? Or do you mean the branch on the right side of the current, planted up scape? Sorry, I'm so confused

 

[Wills]

This bit

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

This bit

View attachment 160806

Ah, thank you!! I was wondering if you meant that bit. Thanks for the handy circle! lol
So you think I should swap the long branch I have on the left here, for the spiderwood instead?

I went for the above arrangement because I wanted to try the George Farmer V style, and ended up quite liking this one. I like the spider wood too, adding that in addition to the above three pieces looked weird, and would be even less space for plants. The cut end of the spider wood is also really short, so if I swapped the one on the left for the spider wood, it would be pretty hidden behind the centre piece cave, and I think it would look unbalanced, perhaps?

 

[Wills]

Ah, thank you!! I was wondering if you meant that bit. Thanks for the handy circle! lol
So you think I should swap the long branch I have on the left here, for the spiderwood instead?View attachment 160807
I went for the above arrangement because I wanted to try the George Farmer V style, and ended up quite liking this one. I like the spider wood too, adding that in addition to the above three pieces looked weird, and would be even less space for plants. The cut end of the spider wood is also really short, so if I swapped the one on the left for the spider wood, it would be pretty hidden behind the centre piece cave, and I think it would look unbalanced, perhaps?

I can see the influence hope you dont mind but quickly just chopped it up in photoshop to show what I was thinking. The spider wood could sit somewhere in here though I think it would add a nice different texture to it - even if you had it sat on top of the big cave piece with the trunk of it at the back left.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I can see the influence hope you dont mind but quickly just chopped it up in photoshop to show what I was thinking. The spider wood could sit somewhere in here though I think it would add a nice different texture to it - even if you had it sat on top of the big cave piece with the trunk of it at the back left.

View attachment 160808

I definitely don't mind the photoshop, I appreciate the help and the illustration very much!

I will definitely give it a go, and show results

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Sorry @Wills , I tried a few arrangements with the spiderwood, but couldn't get it to work Then I couldn't get the central island arrangement to go back the way I had it, and was losing my mind with it, so ended up arranging it so it's slightly left of centre. Leaves a bit more open sand space for the cories though, so maybe that's a good thing. I don't think it looks as good, but I hope it will be better for the fish, and will still look good by the time I've finished fiddling with it, and it's grown in some. Will update the complete planting list later. Will also try the black background and the other light I have asap.

 

[Wills]

Looking really good! Where the wood meets the dragon stone at the front is crying out for a bit of Anubias - one of the small kinds to the front.

There is something odd going on with the light so worth trying the other one - might just be the photo though. Try taking a step back so we can see the full tank.

Wills

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Looking really good! Where the wood meets the dragon stone at the front is crying out for a bit of Anubias - one of the small kinds to the front.

There is something odd going on with the light so worth trying the other one - might just be the photo though. Try taking a step back so we can see the full tank.

Wills

I can't get much further back because of furniture I should figure out how to zoom out a bit on the camera!
I did add a smaller bit of spider wood! As well as some more of the reddish/brown crypt I already have to the right hand corner, moving the lilaopsis forward a bit. It felt like it needed something there.

Just tested the water and getting an ammonia reading of 0.50ppm and nitrites 0.50ppm. Not sure how really, no fish in there and I haven't added ammonia or fish food. Possibly since most of the substrate was taken from the tank I just tore down, although I'd washed it through.

But I switched the filter media to the media taken from the established 57g, and transferred live plants from both other tanks, so with a water change or two and those things done, I think it'll be ready for fish soon!

 

[Wills]

Could be a bit of die off from the plants sometimes they will have a little die off in a move.

Wills

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Could be a bit of die off from the plants sometimes they will have a little die off in a move.

Wills

Ah, good point! I didn't think of that. Well, I'd removed the plants again until I planted them properly this morning, but there was the odd dead plant leaf that had fallen off in there. But it's good that it's reading ammonia and nitrites already right? Means the seeded cycle is on the way. I'm sure the frogbit will be sucking that up in no time!

I also have tons of this pondweed (hornwort? Or elodea?) in the other tank that I could transfer over as a temporary measure to move it along faster?